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APPLICATION FILED JULY 11. 1907,:

4me. M fm n. f, 025W@ El UNITED STATES CLARENCE FAY MAYO, 0F CLIFTON HILL, MISSOURI.

GATE-LATCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patentes oct. 15, 1907.

Application tiled July 11,1907. Serial No. 383,216.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, CLARENCE Fav Marina citizen ot the United States, residing at Clifton Hill, in the county of Randolph and State oi Missouri', have in vented new and useful Improvements in Gate-Latches, of which the follow ing is a specification.

This invention relates to gate latches, the object oi the invention being to provide a simple and effective device ot this character' which can be easily operated by va person but which has means for positively preventing the operation thereof by cattle and other animals.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specication I show in detail one form of embodiment oi the invention which, to enable those skilled in the art to practice the same, will be set forth at length in the following description, while the novelty of the invention will be included in the claims succeeding said description.

Referring to said drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view o1' a portion ol a gate and coperating post equipped with a latch involving my invention. Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of the parts shown'in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the parte of the lat-ch separated from each other. A a

Like characteis rel'er to like parte throughout the several figures oi the drawings.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings I have shown a portion of a swinging gate 2 and a post or .upright s provided .with a keeper as 4 for the latch proper 5 to which I 1will hereinciter reier as the latch This latch can be used either right or left-handed and,'\vhen in its operative position, is adapted to :fit in 'an aperture in the keeper or catch Il fastened to the post 3 in any desirable mem ner. A bracket or plato is shown at 6 and said plate is fastened in some suitable way, as by bolts, 7, to one ol the cross-bars of the gate, for examplefthe upper crossbar thereof. By using bolts the plate or bracket 6 can be separated from the bar which carries it so that it can be transferred irom one side to the other of said bar to adapt the lsaine to the setting of the latch 5'. The bracket or plate G depends from the upper cross-'bar oi the gate and is furnished at its lower end with a laterally-extending stud as 8 which if desiredmay be integral with the said bracket or plate. 'This stud 8 constitutes a pvot for the latchmctuating lever 9, the lever turning on the stud or pivot S. The lever stands #approximately upright and the pivot or stud entends through the same between the ends thereof. The 1ever is shown as having an inwardly-projecting bose or hub as 10 encircled by the coiled spring 11 one end of which is provided with a. hook to fit against the lug l2 on the bracket 6, while the other end is fulnished with' a substantially similar hook to t against the lug 13 on the lever 9. The spring therefore acts against a fixed part such as the lug 12, and also against the lug 13 and serves to hold the latch in its working position and to move it to such position after the latch has been operated to release the gate or when the latch is opposite the aperture in the keeper or catch 1l.

The lower end of the lever is shown as pivoted as at 14 to the inner end of the latch 5, while the upper end of the lever is provided with an angular extension or finger orthuinb-piece as 15 by Whichthe latch can be readily operated. By pressing down on this 'fingerpiece or angular extension 15 the lever-9 can be swung on its pivot 8 to retract the bolt 5 for opening the gate 2.

One ol the primary objects of my invention is to prevent the operation of the lever 9 in a direction to effect 'the retractive movement of the latch 5, by cattle and other animals, and, to attain this result, I show a guard as 16 extending along the finger-piece or angular extension 15 at one side and the complete length thereof. This guard which is stationary or-xed, prevents the noses of the animals rom coming in contact with the iingeupielce 15, to press the same down. The guard 1G is shown as consisting ol" an elongated bar having an angular enlargement as 17 at one end provided with a threaded ertension or screw 18 projecting through the perforation in the plate or bracket (i below the upper cross-bar of the fence, the enlargement 17 abutting against the adjacent face of mid plate and being held in such relation by the nut 19 connected with the screw 18. The opposite end of the guard o1' bar 16 is provided with a. threaded lateral projection as 2O extending through a perforation in theupper crossbar of the fence and held to said bar by holding and check nuts each denoted by 21.

While the guard `or bar 16 prevents the noses of cattle and other animals from depressing the adjacent iingerpiece 15l the latter can be operated readily .by an individual passing his inger or thumb into the space be tween the guard and gate for the purpose of depressing said finger-piece 15.

What I claim is:

1. The combination ot n. latch, a lever for retractlug the latch, provided with a linger-piece for facilitating the operation thereof, und a stationary guard mounted beside the finger-piece. A

2,. 'lhe combination of u latch, u. lever for operating the latch, said lever being provided with an angular extension constituting a finger-piece and a stationary guard located .at one side of the said angular extension and extending the complete length of the same.

3. The combination of a latch, a lever for retreating the latch, a supporting bracket provided with a pivot tor the lever, the lever having a huh, und a spring surrounding the hub and acting against the bracket und lever respectively.

4. The combination ot a latch, a supporting bracket'provided with a pivot, a lever supported for swinging movement by the pivot, und provided with 'a hub, and u coiled spring surrounding the hub, having hooked terminals, the supporting bracket and lever being provided with lugs engnged by said hooked terminals.

.Lhe combination of a gate, a latclrcarrled by sold gate, a supporting bracket connected with the gate. n lever.`

pivotud to the latch and plvotally supported by said lu'uelcul, sud lover having un angular extension, and l1. Imi' eonnuoted with the bracket und gute respectively und LIIH* nosed ln parallelism with und extending along one sido ol". :mld angular extension, Suid hur constituting u gunrd for snit] angular extension.

(i, The combination o1? s1 gute, u hitch carried hy suit] gute, u supporting brochet connected with the gate and hnving u stud, a lever supported for swlnglug movement liy suis] stud and having u hub, said lever being connected ut its lower end with the latch and having' un angular extension ul; its upper end, a spring surrounding said hub, the bracket und lever having' lugs, and the terminals of the springs being of hooked form to engage said lug-s, a bar 

